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onthebooksel's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had a really fun time with this compared to the other Lewin books I've read (Pack of Lies, and the Frayed Bonds series) and this is by far my favourite. One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to romances is when over 70% of the book is spent with the couple(s) at odds with one another and leading to an absolutely pointless argument that leads to the most ridiculous break up for the third act climax.
With Frayed Bonds, Freya took until the third book, over 400 pages read, before she finally gave in and trusted in her men. I really enjoyed the concept, the world building, the character relationships between one another but Freya's absolute stubbornness to die (literally) instead of getting help pissed me off too much to fully enjoy it all.
With Pack of Lies Thorn is similar to Freya in the sense that she's got a lot of trauma from preventing her from accepting reality as is, but Thorn wasn't the only one resistant in that pack. Marlowe and Jubilee were really the only two I enjoyed and they were the heart and glue of that pack. Pack of Lies in my opinion, had an interesting enough outside force where the internal drama between that pack felt unnecessary and detracted from my enjoyment.
Lonely Alpha managed to avoid any of my pet peeves, had great dialogue, character development, an inner monologue that wasn't excessive, and an incredibly interesting outside antagonist that allowed Kiara, Leighton, Dash, Ambrose, and Mercury to band together and instincts drove them to protect one another. The protection includes, knowing when to stop trying to fix your best friend because he is a fully functioning adult who doesn't need to be babied, knowing that Leighton will do whatever it takes to keep Kiara happy, even joining a pack, when she was dead set against it. They all took their time over the 604 pages to grow and evolve but it wasn't drawn out, none of it felt excessively dramatic. It was great.
I loved seeing Dash get a happy ending. I loved seeing the different sub/dom relationships within the pack, I loved the dynamics in general, while it was instalove, it wasn't a scent match, and therefore it felt less love and first sight and more love at first protection.
Kiara is a sheltered virgin, but much like Havoc from Marie Mackay's first book in this series, she's a quick study, and not shy when it comes to asking for what she needs or wants regardless of what that little voice in her head was saying. I often have a hard time with the virgin trope for a multitude of reasons, but with Kiara it worked, with this pack and this context it fit perfectly, it also isn't the main focus of the romance like some virgin trope books can be.
With Frayed Bonds, Freya took until the third book, over 400 pages read, before she finally gave in and trusted in her men. I really enjoyed the concept, the world building, the character relationships between one another but Freya's absolute stubbornness to die (literally) instead of getting help pissed me off too much to fully enjoy it all.
With Pack of Lies Thorn is similar to Freya in the sense that she's got a lot of trauma from preventing her from accepting reality as is, but Thorn wasn't the only one resistant in that pack. Marlowe and Jubilee were really the only two I enjoyed and they were the heart and glue of that pack. Pack of Lies in my opinion, had an interesting enough outside force where the internal drama between that pack felt unnecessary and detracted from my enjoyment.
Lonely Alpha managed to avoid any of my pet peeves, had great dialogue, character development, an inner monologue that wasn't excessive, and an incredibly interesting outside antagonist that allowed Kiara, Leighton, Dash, Ambrose, and Mercury to band together and instincts drove them to protect one another. The protection includes, knowing when to stop trying to fix your best friend because he is a fully functioning adult who doesn't need to be babied, knowing that Leighton will do whatever it takes to keep Kiara happy, even joining a pack, when she was dead set against it. They all took their time over the 604 pages to grow and evolve but it wasn't drawn out, none of it felt excessively dramatic. It was great.
I loved seeing Dash get a happy ending. I loved seeing the different sub/dom relationships within the pack, I loved the dynamics in general, while it was instalove, it wasn't a scent match, and therefore it felt less love and first sight and more love at first protection.
Kiara is a sheltered virgin, but much like Havoc from Marie Mackay's first book in this series, she's a quick study, and not shy when it comes to asking for what she needs or wants regardless of what that little voice in her head was saying. I often have a hard time with the virgin trope for a multitude of reasons, but with Kiara it worked, with this pack and this context it fit perfectly, it also isn't the main focus of the romance like some virgin trope books can be.
kwalla15's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
lilibetbombshell's review
4.0
(Please Note: This story is connected to Olivia Lewin’s other PoisonVerse novel, Pack of Lies, via that book’s character Marlowe. This book is about Marlowe’s older alpha sister, Leighton and the pack Marlowe left behind.)
First of all, y’all should know I’m a huge fan of all the PoisonVerse novels. I’ve read them all. They’re all on my wishlist to own as paperbacks. So I was happy to come across a post where Olivia Lewin had some copies of her ARCs up for grabs. I know I already have ARCs to review, but it turned out to be great timing, because I wasn’t feeling so good yesterday and when I’m not feeling good all I want to read is spicy books anyway. So I took the time to read this a couple of days ahead of schedule and finished it up just this morning. I have to say that I liked it better than I did Pack of Lies, and that’s all due to a little someone called Kiara.
Kiara is the desperate, almost-feral omega at the center of the conflict in Lonely Alpha. Kiara isn’t gold pack like most of the omegas at the center of the conflicts in the other PoisonVerse novels. No, Kiara is actually just about omega royalty: well-bred and raised in luxury to be the best omega she can be for whatever pack her father decides to marry her off to. Too bad she was raised by nannies, her father was cruel, and her beta brother was even worse. One night, on the advice of [spoiler] she gets away from her cruel brother by grabbing a jeweled dagger and attacking him and fleeing to the home of professional corporate fixer, Leighton Winston, and begging Leighton to dark bond her.
This is the first of the PoisonVerse novels I’ve ever read to employ a dark bond. Honestly, I was wondering if they (the collective authors who have written books in this universe) were ever going to deploy it as an actual bond device or if they were going to let it always simmer around the edges as a constant, looming threat to all omegas instead of trying to turn it on its head and try to show it being something an omega could actually want, need, or desire. I’m glad Olivia Lewin (who does tend to delve into the darker side of omegaverse) decided to be the one to finally approach the dark bond, because she did a wonderful job of showing not only why an omega might want or need one, but also how an omega could ultimately feel better protected and more comfortable in their skin having a dark bond after living a certain kind of traumatic life. It also showed how it takes a very certain type of alpha to both accept an omega’s desire to willingly be dark bonded, to tend to and nurture both the omega and the bond, and to treat both with the utmost respect, because ultimately what the dark bond equates to is a 24/7 M/s power dynamic in our world that’s then been turned into a paranormal link in their world. Just as in our world there are bad Masters, in their world there are bad Alphas. But not every Alpha needs to be bad. Ergo, not every dark bond needs to be bad. But, just as in real life, communication and instinct are key in such a relationship. In an omegaverse book, the bond takes up some of the slack of communication and instinct, but not all. That’s a shortcut.
I do truly love Kiara. I love how her dagger is her first friend and her “emotional support dagger”. I love myself a stabbity omega. I love how she’s a spitfire and will choose violence if she can. I actually love the whole pack. I even love some of the supporting cast like Liberty and Soren (I just can’t with him).
A problem I do have is how it seems that the men of the Loranger pack (Dash, Ambrose, Mercury) can’t seem to pull themselves together until Leighton and Kiara start making bridges for them. They’re all falling apart until two shiny female toys are placed in front of them and then all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh! We can all of a sudden start to heal all of our broken pieces now!” I’m not fond of men who can’t communicate with other men they’re supposed to be as close as brothers with (or lovers with). Women aren’t magical, fix-all cures. Women don’t put band-aids on men’s boo-boos. Men need to be emotionally intelligent all on their own. It’s a tired trope.
Otherwise, it’s a really great read, and I highly recommend it. The spice is right, it’s very propulsive, it’s a page-turner, and I got very invested in the characters. And, like I said: I love a stabbity omega.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Universe/Contemporary Romance/Kink Friendly/LGBTQ Romance/Omegaverse/Paranormal Romance/Polyamorous Romance/Sapphic Romance/Spice Level 3/Suspense Romance/Urban Fantasy/Why Choose Romance
First of all, y’all should know I’m a huge fan of all the PoisonVerse novels. I’ve read them all. They’re all on my wishlist to own as paperbacks. So I was happy to come across a post where Olivia Lewin had some copies of her ARCs up for grabs. I know I already have ARCs to review, but it turned out to be great timing, because I wasn’t feeling so good yesterday and when I’m not feeling good all I want to read is spicy books anyway. So I took the time to read this a couple of days ahead of schedule and finished it up just this morning. I have to say that I liked it better than I did Pack of Lies, and that’s all due to a little someone called Kiara.
Kiara is the desperate, almost-feral omega at the center of the conflict in Lonely Alpha. Kiara isn’t gold pack like most of the omegas at the center of the conflicts in the other PoisonVerse novels. No, Kiara is actually just about omega royalty: well-bred and raised in luxury to be the best omega she can be for whatever pack her father decides to marry her off to. Too bad she was raised by nannies, her father was cruel, and her beta brother was even worse. One night, on the advice of [spoiler] she gets away from her cruel brother by grabbing a jeweled dagger and attacking him and fleeing to the home of professional corporate fixer, Leighton Winston, and begging Leighton to dark bond her.
This is the first of the PoisonVerse novels I’ve ever read to employ a dark bond. Honestly, I was wondering if they (the collective authors who have written books in this universe) were ever going to deploy it as an actual bond device or if they were going to let it always simmer around the edges as a constant, looming threat to all omegas instead of trying to turn it on its head and try to show it being something an omega could actually want, need, or desire. I’m glad Olivia Lewin (who does tend to delve into the darker side of omegaverse) decided to be the one to finally approach the dark bond, because she did a wonderful job of showing not only why an omega might want or need one, but also how an omega could ultimately feel better protected and more comfortable in their skin having a dark bond after living a certain kind of traumatic life. It also showed how it takes a very certain type of alpha to both accept an omega’s desire to willingly be dark bonded, to tend to and nurture both the omega and the bond, and to treat both with the utmost respect, because ultimately what the dark bond equates to is a 24/7 M/s power dynamic in our world that’s then been turned into a paranormal link in their world. Just as in our world there are bad Masters, in their world there are bad Alphas. But not every Alpha needs to be bad. Ergo, not every dark bond needs to be bad. But, just as in real life, communication and instinct are key in such a relationship. In an omegaverse book, the bond takes up some of the slack of communication and instinct, but not all. That’s a shortcut.
I do truly love Kiara. I love how her dagger is her first friend and her “emotional support dagger”. I love myself a stabbity omega. I love how she’s a spitfire and will choose violence if she can. I actually love the whole pack. I even love some of the supporting cast like Liberty and Soren (I just can’t with him).
A problem I do have is how it seems that the men of the Loranger pack (Dash, Ambrose, Mercury) can’t seem to pull themselves together until Leighton and Kiara start making bridges for them. They’re all falling apart until two shiny female toys are placed in front of them and then all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh! We can all of a sudden start to heal all of our broken pieces now!” I’m not fond of men who can’t communicate with other men they’re supposed to be as close as brothers with (or lovers with). Women aren’t magical, fix-all cures. Women don’t put band-aids on men’s boo-boos. Men need to be emotionally intelligent all on their own. It’s a tired trope.
Otherwise, it’s a really great read, and I highly recommend it. The spice is right, it’s very propulsive, it’s a page-turner, and I got very invested in the characters. And, like I said: I love a stabbity omega.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Universe/Contemporary Romance/Kink Friendly/LGBTQ Romance/Omegaverse/Paranormal Romance/Polyamorous Romance/Sapphic Romance/Spice Level 3/Suspense Romance/Urban Fantasy/Why Choose Romance
zeya333's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
manda24176's review
5.0
Lonely Alpha
Leighton
I enjoyed this story a lot. It was different from the others. I loved that it included Pack Loranger. I have enjoyed the PoisonVerse series. Hopefully there will be more to come from this world.
Leighton
I enjoyed this story a lot. It was different from the others. I loved that it included Pack Loranger. I have enjoyed the PoisonVerse series. Hopefully there will be more to come from this world.
darklittlereader's review
5.0
4.5 ⭐
I loved this book! It was such a good read!
I adored Leighton and her devotion to this omega that she didn't even want in the first place. Kiara and Nyla cracked me up so much. I really felt for Ambrose, you could tell that he just wanted to be loved, he gave his whole heart and lived with the scraps he got in return. It was nice to see Dash in a different context even with all his chaoticness. Mercury was a character that I wanted more of, I felt like we got so much of the girls but I really wanted to know the Loranger pack indepth, especially cause the book had some serious length to it.
All this being said it was an excellent omegaverse novel, I love that we had a female alpha, and what a great addition to the Poisonverse.
I received an ARC copy of the book but I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
I loved this book! It was such a good read!
I adored Leighton and her devotion to this omega that she didn't even want in the first place. Kiara and Nyla cracked me up so much. I really felt for Ambrose, you could tell that he just wanted to be loved, he gave his whole heart and lived with the scraps he got in return. It was nice to see Dash in a different context even with all his chaoticness. Mercury was a character that I wanted more of, I felt like we got so much of the girls but I really wanted to know the Loranger pack indepth, especially cause the book had some serious length to it.
All this being said it was an excellent omegaverse novel, I love that we had a female alpha, and what a great addition to the Poisonverse.
I received an ARC copy of the book but I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
brittneywoo's review
dark
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
krbam's review
5.0
The Poisonverse does it again! I loved this book so much. The spice starts early and does not let up!
I was rooting for ALL OF THEM from the beginning. The representation shown through Dash's character is one I can relate to right down to my soul but don't get to see all that often. As a recently diagnosed neuro-spicy individual, it warmed my heart to see such accurate descriptions of what life can be like on the page. And not just finding a character to relate to, but Mercury also shows a perfect example of how to adapt and grow as a partner to him.
The character growth in this book is so freaking amazing. If you're on the fence about it - don't be.
I was rooting for ALL OF THEM from the beginning. The representation shown through Dash's character is one I can relate to right down to my soul but don't get to see all that often. As a recently diagnosed neuro-spicy individual, it warmed my heart to see such accurate descriptions of what life can be like on the page. And not just finding a character to relate to, but Mercury also shows a perfect example of how to adapt and grow as a partner to him.
The character growth in this book is so freaking amazing. If you're on the fence about it - don't be.
aelin_morgenstern's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Trafficking, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
kifirth95's review
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25